Application and Admissions

Prospective students must apply to both the Clemson University
Graduate School and to the RCID Program. Admission to
the program will take place in the fall semester only.

Students are greatly encouraged to contact the Director and to begin their applications early in
September-November. Our deadline is February 1.
We can no longer be responsible for any incomplete applications after that time. The application in some cases may
include an initial telephone interview or an on-campus interview.

The Director of RCID will first examine and study all applications
with supporting documents and will work closely with the applicants.
When applications are complete and in satisfactory condition, the Director
will consult with the RCID Advisory Committee on each applicant.

After consultation with the Advisory Committee,
the Director will make offers of acceptance to the program with or without
a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTAship). There
will be two levels of offers with a GTAship: an offer on first tier
and immediately made, and an offer on second tier subject to availability
of a GTAship. Students not accepted will be notified by the Graduate
School and by the Director as each determination has been made.

The Clemson University Graduate School and, therefore, the RCID program
have agreed to the Council of Graduate Schools' policy of the deadline
to accept the offer as April 15th.

Graduate School

All students must submit their applications to the Clemson Graduate
School Admissions office. Applications should be made online:
www.grad.clemson.edu/admission/

A completed admission includes the application form and application
fee payment to the Clemson University Graduate School, as well as the
letter of application itself, the transcripts, the GRE scores, the three
letters of recommendation, etc. It is solely the responsibility of the
applicant to make sure that the application fee is paid and that all
material arrives on time and in good form. Timing is everything if the applicant wishes to be considered for a GTAship. No action will be taken until
the application is complete.

Caveat: An applicant should inform the writers
of letters who know the student's work well not only to fill out the
form (with its request for numerical rankings) but also to write a developed,
separate letter of recommendation sent directly to the Director. An applicant should provide the URL to the RCID site so that the writers can base their judgments on the description of the program. An applicant should make clear to the writers that the Director and Advisory Committee are interested in the abilities of the applicant to conduct research. If applicants wish to
have more than three letters written and sent, then, they may do so.

RCID Program

All prospective students are encouraged to contact
the Director, Victor J. Vitanza, by email: sophist@clemson.edu so as
to introduce themselves and to ask any questions or mention any concerns
that they might have. A telephone interview may follow the initial email
communications.

The RCID program has its own requirements: To be admitted
to the Ph.D. program in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design,
students must first meet the following basic requirements:

Students must have a Master's degree in English, or other related
fields. Students with a Master's degree in another field of study, such
as history, philosophy, languages, or the sciences, may apply to the
program with the understanding that they may be required to successfully
complete prerequisite, Master's-level courses in Professional Communication
or other areas prior to full admission to the Ph.D. program.

Students must have earned a grade-point average of
at least 3.5 in previous graduate work. The student must submit all
transcripts of his or her previous graduate and undergraduate work.

Students must take the GRE. (GRE scores more
than five years old relative to the date of initial enrollment will
not be accepted by the Graduate School.) Most successful applicants
will have a combined GRE score (verbal and quantitative) of at least
1000. Scores of these two sections of the GRE for students admitted
to the program last year, however, were 500 and 647 respectively. Any
applicant with a V+Q total below that average must be able to submit
exceptional supporting materials to have a competitive application (transcripts,
at least three reference letters, a portfolio, etc.). The Director has the right to waive the GRE if the applicant demonstrates excellence in the overall application. Because of the strong communication
component of the Ph.D., non-native speakers of English should have a
minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper version) or 213 (computer version).
Applicants with a score of less than 4 on the analytical writing section
of the GRE and/or who have TOEFL scores less than indicated above are
urged to contact the RCID Director prior to initiating an application.
The official scores--all material--must arrive on time.

It is solely the
responsibility of the applicant to monitor the sent and arrived
scores, letters, transcripts, etc., to the CU Graduate Admissions Office.

Part-time students, in-residence or on-line, who most likely take
one or even two seminars a semester, may apply but the Director and the RCID AC do
not especially encourage such students to enter the program. In making
an application, the part-time student should, as must the fulltime student,
make a case, with compelling evidence and arguments, of the high probability
of completing the degree in a timely manner. RCID is a four-year program.

Additionally, students must submit directly to the Director of RCID:

A Curriculum Vita, including information, if any, about their teaching assignments in English or other academic departments as well as industry.

A portfolio of previous graduate work, including their
thesis or their own writing samples and electronic projects
(if stand-alone projects, burn them on a CD or DVD; if on the Web, send
URLs). The works submitted must be the result of research.

A personal statement addressing interests and intentions
in pursuing the Ph.D. in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design.
In responding, the student should directly and in detail address these
questions:

Why are you interested in Clemson University?
Why the RCID program?
What is your research (dissertation) project?
Whas is your conjecture? (with a literture review)?
Why is it important to you?
Why is it important to the field you want to enter?
What are your methodologies for this investigation?
Which RCID faculty members would you like to work with on this project?*
Please tell us whatever else you would like us to know about this project.
For what professional purpose do you want this degree: To teach in academia
or to work in industry or both?
Do you have a laptop computer? If yes, Is it a PC or Apple?
What multimedia software do you have installed in your laptop?

It cannot be stressed enough that the personal statement be conceived
and executed in detail.

[*It is generally expected that the research project and, consequently,
the mentors will most likely change in part or completely while pursuing
the degree.]

International Students

If an applicant is an international student, the application for admission should be completed by February 1. The RCID program is especially interested in International students. We have had students from China, Turkey, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, etc. And of course, we welcome Fulbright Students. On-line
application can be made at
www.grad.clemson.edu/admission/

International Students seeking graduate teaching assistantships, whose
native language is not English and whose secondary education (and beyond)
was not taught fully in English, are required to pass the SPEAK test
of proficiency in spoken English. Specialists in English as a Second
Language administer this test at Clemson University after the students
have arrived. Prospective international TAs will also undergo an interview
during which their proficiency in spoken English will be evaluated by
faculty members in the RCID program.

Issuance of form I-20 or form IAP-66 for your visa will normally be
completed no later than June 1 for registration in the fall semester.
(These dates apply to international applicants from abroad; international
students who are residents of the United States should adhere to the
same dates as American citizens.)

The deadline means that every required item in support
of the application (completed application form, application fee, transcripts
from each post-secondary school attended, letters of recommendation,
test scores and financial certificate) must be on file with the Graduate
School by these dates. Ideally, the actual application should have been
on file at least four weeks in advance of these dates. Thus, if an applicant
is an international applicant living outside the United States,
he or she should complete the required standardized tests at least three
months prior to the February 1 deadline. The longer a student waits
to apply the fewer Graduate Teaching Assistants remain available, if
any, for them.